***Urges President Tinubu to Honor Late MKO Abiola
By Mercy Gadia Adi
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North Senatorial District, has called on President Bola Tinubu to give the family of late Bashorun MKO Abiola the same treatment as families of former presidents. Kalu made this plea while addressing journalists at the National Assembly in Abuja, reacting to former military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida’s (IBB) public restitution on the June 12 election annulment.
Kalu emphasized that Abiola’s victory in the June 12 presidential election is undisputed.
“I would like them to put Abiola’s picture where other former presidents’ pictures are put. If he won the election, though he was not sworn in,” he said.
Kalu also urged President Tinubu to swear in Abiola posthumously, allowing his picture to be displayed alongside other former presidents, which would help heal the family’s wounds.
Setting the Record Straight on the June 12 Coup, Kalu clarified that the coup against the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election was a Nigerian coup, not an Igbo coup, as previously perceived.
“I don’t need IBB’s revelation to know that Igbos were accused unjustly for what transpired then. The coup was a Nigerian coup executed by the military,” he stated.
Kalu expressed gratitude towards IBB for clearing the air on the coup, but he’s eagerly awaiting the second edition of IBB’s book, which he hopes will reveal more details about the events surrounding the annulment.
“I’m waiting for the second edition of that book, because the first edition did not bring out all the realities of what happened,” Kalu said